Sixty Two Days

7 November 2011

So the International Atomic Energy Agency thinks Iran could develop a nuclear weapon in as little as 62 days. It’s pretty unlikely that Tehran will actually go nuclear before January 9, 2012, but we do appear to be awfully close to the brink all of a sudden.

It seems those in a position to actually do something about this have resigned themselves to it. Air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities could easily spark a war that also engulfs Israel and Iran’s allies in Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria. If the Iranian government really wants to lash out, it could probably do so in Iraq and Afghanistan, too. No one wants to give an order to stop the Iranian bomb with all that on the line.

Of course a nuclear-armed Iran would put all those countries in even greater danger than they already are, so perhaps the governments of Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom might go through with it anyway.

It’s times like this I’m glad the U.S. government doesn’t ask for my advice about foreign policy. Pity those who have to make these decisions.